雞 (jī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

雞

jī[ji1]Tone 1

chicken

HSK 1

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鸡

Guru Deep Dive

English · chicken

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (又) is narrower and compact, while the right component (鸟) is wider and bears the main visual weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional complex phonetic component 奚 was replaced in the simplified character by 又, while the right side 隹 was replaced by the simplified bird radical 鸟.

1. Meaning

chicken, fowl

prostitute (slang)

Nounneutral (slang for secondary sense)#animals#food#birds#slang

Sample Usage

我喜欢吃鸡肉。
wǒ xǐhuān chī jīròu.
I like eating chicken meat.
院子里有很多鸡。
yuànzi li yǒu hěnduō jī.
There are many chickens in the yard.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕi˥]/Tone: 55

雞

jīji1

¯(55)

=jī

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: soft j/y sound produced with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches or comes very close to the hard palate behind the alveolar ridge.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to a sustained musical note or a robotic monotone at the upper edge of your speaking voice.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with jǐ (Tone 3), which dips down and up, or jì (Tone 4), which drops sharply.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your voice at a steady, high pitch like a flat musical note sustained at the top of your voice range.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (又) is narrower and compact, while the right component (鸟) is wider and bears the main visual weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional complex phonetic component 奚 was replaced in the simplified character by 又, while the right side 隹 was replaced by the simplified bird radical 鸟.

4. Components

Radical 鸟 · Bird Radical (bird)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鸟 (indicates that the character belongs to the category of birds or winged animals)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 奚 (original sound: jī)

The traditional character combines 奚 (sound clue) and 鸟 (bird semantic clue). In the simplified form, it pairs 又 (hand/again) with 鸟 (bird).

又 compact left element in the simplified form
鸟 right element indicating bird

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted as a detailed bird with a crest in oracle bone scripts, eventually evolving into a phono-semantic compound combining a phonetic sound element with the bird signific.

Semantic Evolution: From general wild fowl and birds in antiquity to domesticated chickens and poultry in modern usage.

The chicken is the tenth animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A hand again (又) feeds the bird (鸟) in the coop every morning, making a happy 'Jī! Jī!' sound.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

极

jíextreme, poleReplaces the bird radical with the wood radical (木).

级

jígrade, levelReplaces the bird radical with the silk/thread radical (纟).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

记(jì)

Has the speech radical (讠) on the left instead of 又, meaning 'to remember'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我今天晚飯想吃炸[___]。

Clue: jī

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified version 鸡 with lookalikes that share the same phonetic root like 极 or 级.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 鸡 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the simplified Chinese character for 'chicken'?

雞jīchicken

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